Overview of sweeteners
Sweeteners are food additives that sweeten soft drinks and are a type of flavoring agent. Sweeteners are often used as a substitute for sugar as a way to reduce the sugar content of food calories or in meals for diabetics.
Segmentation of sweeteners
The classification of sweetener products can be based on source, nutritional value and chemical structure.
By nutritional value: they can be divided into nutritive sweeteners (which not only have a sweet taste, but also provide energy for the body or participate in the body's metabolic activities) and non-nutritive new sweeteners (which are sweeter, less abundant, have low caloric content, and mostly do not participate in the body's metabolic activities).
By sweetness: can be divided into low sweetness sweeteners (erythritol, xylitol, etc.) and high sweetness sweeteners (saccharin, molasses, aspartame, acesulfame, sucralose, etc.)
By source: can be divided into natural sweeteners (from nature, such as stevia, licorice sweeteners, rosmarinic acid, etc.) and synthetic sweeteners (sweeteners by means of chemical synthesis, such as saccharin, sweetener, aspartame, etc.)
Among them, natural sweeteners such as stevia glycosides and rosmarinic acid sweet glycosides are increasingly favored by consumers due to their natural and safe characteristics.In 2022, synthetic sweeteners will still occupy a dominant position in China's sweeteners market, accounting for nearly 50% of the market share.
Current status of the sweetener industry
The global sweeteners industry is showing a trend of diversification and individualization. On the one hand, due to the development of science and technology, new sweeteners such as aspartame, sweeteners, sodium saccharin, etc., which provide sweetness with lower calories and fewer side effects, are emerging. On the other hand, the demand for sweeteners has become increasingly personalized, with a preference for natural, healthy and environmentally friendly sweeteners such as stevia and rosmarinic acid. Driven by the concept of healthy diet, the demand for low-sugar and sugar-free food is increasing, the production scale of sweeteners is expanding, and the national policy of "controlling sugar and reducing sugar' has become an important driving force for the development of China's sweetener industry. It is expected that in 2024, China's sweetener production will exceed 300,000 tons.
However, the sweetener industry is also facing some challenges, the first is the safety issue, some sweeteners in the long-term use of large quantities may have adverse effects on human health. Secondly, with the intensification of market competition, enterprises must carry out technological innovation to improve the quality of their products and enhance the added value of their products, so as to better meet the requirements of customers Changes in policies and regulations will also have an impact on the sweeteners industry, such as the restriction on the use of certain sweeteners.
Size of the sweetener industry
The market size of the sweeteners industry has continued to grow over the past few years. According to statistics, the global sweeteners market size reached around USD 20 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 5% in the coming years. This growth is mainly due to several factors:
As the global population grows and the standard of living improves, the demand for food is increasing, especially for low-sugar and low-calorie foods. And with the emphasis on health, more people are replacing traditional sugar with sweeteners. Sweeteners are increasingly used in medicine and cosmetics, becoming a new growth point for industrial development.
Regionally, North America and Europe are the world's largest sweeteners markets, accounting for the majority of the global market. This is mainly due to the high consumer demand for healthy food and high acceptance of sweeteners in these regions. With the rise of emerging markets such as Asia, the sweeteners industry has huge market potential in these regions.
Development trend of sweetener industry
With the enhancement of people's health consciousness, the safety demand of sweeteners is also increasing, how to minimize its safety hazards has become an inevitable trend of development. Therefore, in terms of production process, product formulation and function development, it is necessary to continuously innovate, so that sweetener manufacturers can improve production efficiency, reduce production costs, improve product quality and safety, and thus improve their competitiveness in the market. In the long run, the sweetener market is expected to continue to grow with the rising demand for low-sugar, healthy diets worldwide, coupled with the continuous research and development of new sweeteners, as well as the continuous improvement of existing products.
Source:CCM
More information can be found at CCM Dairy Sugar&sweeteners China Monthly Report.
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